Your best advice: How to do well in A&P?!

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2013

Good day:

I'm taking A&P 1 now. What helped was taking human biology the semester before hand; and while it was rough (as it was simultaneous for the 1st 8 weeks) was taking Basic Microbiology along side A&P 1 (each helped the other).

I taped recorded each A&P lecture; and listen, re-listened to the lectures as often as possible. I took notes, and retyped the notes. I created flashcards with Quizlet. BIO121 Anatomy and Physiology 1 Lecture, Professor Mason, Fall 2013 | Quizlet are for the lecture portion, BIO121 Anatomy and Physiology 1 Lab, Professor Mason, Fall 2013 | Quizlet for the lab portion.

Each week, I spent several hours in the schools' learning center either reviewing models or talking with a tutor who knew far more than I. When lab time came around, I took advantage of the entire lab time to study and learn. I was a part of a study group that met once to twice a week in the learning center as well.

I recommend participating as much as possible as you will learn more whether you are right or wrong with your responses. If you ever do less than expected on a quiz or exam, talk with the professor for advice on what to change or do differently to do better next time. Do not wait for several bad quizzes or exams to start asking for advice.

Do research other sources. I.e. this afternoon I was reviewing ventilation perfusion coupling (our book gives it one paragraph) by doing research on google and youtube including watching a youtube video where it was covered in reasonable detail.

In addition to the above, this is what I've been using and it works well:

https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html

Here are some links that may be useful in terms of improving overall study skills, taking notes, reading text books, etc.

Note Taking Systems - Academic Skills Center: Study Skills Library - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Cornell Notetaking System Explained--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

Google Image Result for http://kenpitts.net/images/cornell_note_how_to.jpg

The SQ3R Reading Method

Time management

Reading University Level Materials--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Read Effectively in the Sciences--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Read and Study Medical Texts--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

More About Effective Textbook Study--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

An Effective Textbook Study Strategy--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Mark a Section of a Textbook Chapter--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

Thank you.

Bubbly26, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2013

What helped me was reading the chapter all the way through then going back to read it again in sections. That really helped me retain the information. Another helpful trick was going to the open labs and actually touching the models of specific organs. For an example, my final was on the brain so I went to open lab and learned the parts of the brain by touching the models of the brain. Since I am a Kinesthetic Learner touching the models of those organs helped tremendously.

I made an A in A&P I by doing those things.

malenurse69, MSN, NP · Dec 12, 2013

Depends really on how your teacher teaches. Book is usually supplement to teacher's powerpoints, but usually tests (in my experience) are over only the slides teacher goes over while the book helps you reinforce the ideas in more detail. My advice is know the slides your teacher covers and skip the rest of the in depth detail thats in the book, because while interesting, it will double sometimes triple your study time. Now if your teacher explicitly states you need to know everything from book, then obviously read it. But that usually wont be the case, theres just too much information to teach. So study hard what the teacher gives, if you feel shaky on something, use the book and google to reinforce the information. Foolproof A as long as you put your nose to the grindstone and study.

ant2cory · Dec 12, 2013

I literally read every page in my A&P book. I took notes and studied often. I bought flash cards to study with too. I also took human biology before hand and that was extremely helpful.

Make sure you really learn the material and not just do what you have to do to pass. Every section connects with the one before it. The human body is beyond interesting but it is also complex, study and read and you will do fine :)

VampyrSlayer, CNA · Dec 13, 2013

I'm taking A&p 2 online with lab right now and like it so much better than the in classroom class I took for 1. It's so easy that everything is there at your finger tips so if you need to know something it tells you where to find it. It also helps that I have a great professor who answers my (million) questions promptly.

TLynn89 · Dec 13, 2013

I got an A in A&P I this semester. It's really not any different from other courses. As long as you have, or build good study habits you should be fine. I notice that people all have different things to say in reply to your question. That's not a surprise, what works for one person may not for another. In general, check out different reading methods, or work on finding the one that you like best, that helps you retain the most information. Listen to the professor first, get into your book second. This semester, we went through 16 different chapters, but I think we probably only did 2 or 3 in their entirety.

My professor had chapter outlines (for note-taking) online for us. What I like to do is print out the outline (they're all available at the beginning of the semester) and read through the chapter, filling in my own notes on the points that he's included with a black pen. Then, when I go to lecture, I use a red pen to add in what he's saying. Since I've already read the material, listening to him is just reinforcement and really helps me commit the facts to memory. Then, when I get home, I like to sort through all the notes, and make a nice copy in my notebook that's a little more clearly organized. Reviewing within 24 hours after taking your notes is supposed to help, and it's easier to study off of that version than my scratched-out notes from pre-reading and lecture.

I also recommended a book to someone else on here yesterday, Barron's E-Z Anatomy and Physiology (here, on Amazon: E-Z Anatomy and Physiology (Barron's E-Z Series): I. Edward Alcamo Ph.D., Barbara Krumhardt Ph.D.: 9780764144684: Amazon.com: Books) While I didn't need it all the time, it was worth the $15 I spent on it. The few times that I had to learn something that just wouldn't click, this book explains it in a different way and gives you a foundation to build on.

There are other things you can do too, but those are the highlights for what I did. Good luck!

Retired APRN, MSN, RN, APRN · Dec 13, 2013

It's very old school (but so am I). I found flash cards (there are apps for that) really helped. I also had an anatomy coloring book that really got the structures into my brain.

beshacohen · Dec 13, 2013

Don't cram for tests. Short study session every day of the week will help you retain information. Adult learners remember about 10% of the material presented in lecture. You need to reinforce lectures by reading the material through several time to be sure you understand it. The best way to understand anything is to teach it to someone else. If you can teach it, you can reproduce it on a test.

Assess your learning style. Some people are primarily visual learners. Some primarily auditory. Some experiential. It helps me a great deal to attack information with all of my senses. I used color in my notecards. The Sphenoid Bone will always be orange in my mind. I will always remember it for that reason. also make up stupid little songs to remember vocabulary. It's stupid, but it helps. I would not remember the name or the location of the sternocleidomastoid muscle if not for one of those stupid little songs.

I got a copy of the Anatomy Coloring Book and colored in all of the body parts. It might seem like a waste of time, but it works. While you are coloring in a part, repeat (or sing) the name over and over to cement it in your mind. If you use blue for a specific bone, make sure you always use the same color for it. Body parts are repeated throughout the pages of the book. If the gastrocnemius muscle is ALWAYS blue, then blue will help you remember the name of the muscle.

My final suggestion - you are going to have to learn a huge amount of new vocabulary. If you can learn the words, you are halfway there. Drill, drill, and drill some more. Quizlet will help.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Dec 13, 2013

I got A's in both I and II. For me, I made sure I went to every class and took good notes and studied when I could. I really find it interesting so it wasn't hard for me to pay attention and learn. I did much better in lab than lecture probably because I am a hands on learner.

DadStudentPerhaps · Dec 13, 2013

Don't get behind, set aside time to study and do assignments daily, ask questions if your unsure about something, take advantage of free websites like Khan Academy.

__patiently_waiting · Dec 13, 2013

To be honest you just have to learn what works best for you. Before I started AP1 I browsed this website daily and all the hype about it scared me up. I actually went out looking for extra sources like books, flashcards, etc. All it did was confuse me. Didn't help me at all. When the semester started I realized it was just like every other class. Definitely not as hard as some people say. All I did was go to class daily, took good notes, and paid attention in class. Made an A in lecture and lab. To me the course isn't very hard, it's just a lot of material. It actually has been my favorite science class thus far.